We're going to get back into
Romans Chapter 9, and remember this Book of Romans is so basic to not only our
understanding these doctrines of Grace, but even as Paul brings out here in
these middle three chapters of God dealing with Israel, and where Israel stands
in His program even today.

Romans 9:8

"That is, They which are the
children of the flesh, (That is those from Ishmael and later on from Esau) these
are not the children of God: (Oh they're children of Abraham, but they're not in
the line of the Covenant.) but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed."

Now you remember the word
"seed" is from the Greek word Zera. It is a word very much like our English word
"sheep." It is always used the same way, whether it's in the singular or in the
plural. In other words if you look at one sheep over here it's a sheep, and if
you look at a flock of sheep over here it's still sheep. So you have to
determine from the text is he speaking of many in the word seed, or is he
speaking one. Now the article here designates that it's the singular seed. And
so only "the children of the promise are counted for the seed." Go back to
Genesis 21:9: Here we have the situation where Isaac and Ishmael are going to
have to be separated.

Genesis 21:9-12

"And Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto
Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: (son of flesh) for the son of this
bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. (son of promise) And
the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son (Abraham loved
Ishmael, but Abraham still did not have the long range concept of the Abrahamic
Covenant of a Messiah coming through his loins). And God said unto Abraham, `Let
it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy
bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in
Isaac shall thy seed (singular) be called.'"

And again it's speaking of the
coming of the "Seed of the Woman" Who is Christ. The Seed of the woman could not
take off through Ishmael or Esau, it had to come through the son of promise who
was Isaac! Now we're going to run into the same thing in the next generation
when Isaac's wife Rebecca has twins in her womb. Back to Romans Chapter 9.

Romans 9:9

"For this is the word of
promise" Now I can't emphasize enough this word promise as I did in the last
lesson. Abraham's almost 100 years old, and Sarah is almost 90, so it had to
take a miracle of God for her to conceive, and that miracle of course is a
result of the promise of God. And these promises go all the way back to eternity
past before Adam was ever created. All of these things were already set in God's
concrete if I can use that term.

"For this is the word of
promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son."

Now God's speaking. People have
written that they appreciate my standing constantly on the Sovereignty of God,
and I will never back away from that. God is Sovereign, and we're going to see
that in some of these coming verses. All right, so God made the promise, that
through Abraham, and Isaac would come this next son of promise in verse 10:

Romans 9:10,11

"And not only this; but when
Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; [Rebecca has twins
in her womb] (For the children [Esau & Jacob] being not yet born, neither
having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)"

Now Who are we talking about?
The Sovereign God! Now I'm going to have to stop before I go any further, and
the thought just struck me this morning as I was mulling this over while I was
getting dressed. You know I put it on the board a few lessons ago that as
mankind moves down the river of life, and on both sides of the banks of that
river are constant doors of opportunity over which was written, "Whosoever Will
May Come," but as soon as we respond to that opportunity, and step through that
door we can look back at that door and see written over it, "Chosen From Before
The Foundations Of The World."

Now then in these next series
of verses here in Chapter 9 are some things that are mighty hard to swallow, and
very hard to teach, because people will confuse the issue, and they're going to
fall into the trap of saying, "Well, if it's all up to my being elected, then
why should I worry about it. I'll just go my own way, and if God sees fit to
grab me by the nape of the neck, and I'm elected, then I'll go to Heaven. If
not, I'm going to go to hell because I have no choice in the matter." Listen,
the Bible never teaches that! But here's where I'm going to clarify it. These
succeeding verses now, and everything that we've been covering touching the
elections, the calling of the believers since eternity past, is a doctrine that
really should be studied only by, I think, the believer. Because now as a
believer God wants us to know that in our exalted position, we didn't come in by
accident. We came into this position because in eternity past, "God Chose Us."
Now you see that's something that only the believer can take by faith because
God said it. I can't argue with it, but for the unbeliever he can't comprehend
this, and I don't expect him to because it isn't for the unbeliever to try and
swallow. All the unbeliever has to understand is, "Whosoever Will May Come." The
unbeliever has to understand that God has said:

II Peter 3:9

"The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance."

The Scripture says that Christ
died for every man. And I ran into a verse the other night and I have read it
over and over all these years, but had never really seen it, and of course
that's the beauty of this Book you can never exhaust it. Let's look at John's
Gospel, and it's speaking of John the Baptist.

John 1:7-9

"The same came for a witness,
to bear witness of the Light, (Speaking of Christ) that all men through him
might believe." How many? All! Not just a few, but He came that all might
believe. In verse 8, John the Baptist wasn't that Light.

"He was not that Light, but was
sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, (Jesus the Christ,
and here's something that I had never seen before) which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world."

It says, "He lighteth every
man," and The Book doesn't lie. Now I know a lot of us get all hung up when we
realize that people down in the jungles of the Amazon valley, and in certain
other spiritual dark places of the world have never heard the Gospel (Ref. I
Corinthians 15:1-4). And we can't comprehend a Righteous God sending them to an
eternal lake of fire. But listen, The Book says over and over that for some
reason or other they have received the Light. They have a certain amount of
knowledge. I can't explain it but that's what The Book says, and that's what it
says right here, that when Christ came into the world, "His light lighteth every
man that cometh into the world." Now that's a future tense verb, so it wasn't
just speaking of those living at Christ's time, but rather it was also speaking
of those coming on the scene even today. They have received somehow or other the
Light. Let's go to Titus Chapter 2, and another verse that I've even struggled
with myself, but I take it by faith. I believe it with all my heart, and mind
because The Book says it. Here the Apostle Paul is at the end of his earthly
ministry, he's going to be martyred before much longer. But look at this amazing
statement, and remember it's Holy Spirit inspired. It's The Word of God.

Titus 2:11

"For the grace of God (That
unmerited favor that God has poured out on the whole human race) that bringeth
salvation hath (past tense) appeared to all men." Not just a favored few, but
all men. Now let's back up to Romans that has thrown a curve at a lot of people,
and it's hard for me to teach it because it just seems so impossible, but it
isn't because The Book says it.

Romans 1:18,19a

"For the wrath of God..." And
remember we're not under the wrath of God today, but rather the Grace of God.
But His wrath is coming, it's getting closer every day, and one of these days
God's going to have His stomach full, and He's going to start pouring out His
wrath. Now reading on:

"For the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may (Now watch this) be
known of God is manifest in them..."

`Manifest' is a multi-type
term. There isn't just one little segment of knowledge, they have a whole bunch,
just like a manifold on a V-8 engine has 8 port holes. That's one for every
cylinder, that's a manifold, and the same word is associated with this word
manifest. A complete unveiling of knowledge.

Romans 1:19b,20

"for God hath shewed it unto
them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood (See?) by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they (the whole human race) are without excuse:" That
doesn't mean we can just sit in our living room and let the world go to Hell.
But the constant admonition is that we are to promote the Gospel to the ends of
the earth. Absolutely we are. Paul says in II Corinthians 5:

II Corinthians 5:20a

"Now then we are ambassadors
for Christ..."

That's exactly what He wants us
to be. We are to be ambassadors of the tremendous message of reconciliation, but
man will never come up before God at the Great White Throne Judgment, and be
able to say to God that He was unfair, and that they never had a chance. They
can't say that they didn't know, and God is going to say unto them, "Depart from
me I never knew you." Everybody has a certain amount of understanding. Now back
to Romans Chapter 9.

So this whole concept of
election, the foreknowledge of God as to who would become believers is something
that the unsaved person doesn't have to worry about, he doesn't have to fret
over it, he doesn't have to take the attitude, "Well I don't have a chance
unless God elects me." The whosoever will on the bank of that life stream river
is always open. You know when I teach John's Gospel Chapter 10 with the analogy
of the shepherd and the sheepfold, I always teach that no man cometh into the
sheepfold but by the door, and if they try to get in some other way then they're
thieves and robbers. And where is that door for that sheepfold? Ground level
where the lost person can walk right through it. It's not up on some high far
way place that is inaccessible, but always at ground level. And all they have to
do is choose to go through it, and if they don't it's not God's fault. And we're
going to see this now in the next verses here in Romans Chapter 9. So always
temper this with the fact that we can't comprehend this, even though God's Word
says it, until we're a believer. And then it is a point of assurance, and
rejoicing. I'm secure in the Body of Christ because God chose me.

Let me give you another
analogy. I don't remember the man that wrote it. I read it years ago, and I had
to struggle with it, but the more I've struggled the better I can see it. He
gave the analogy of ten men sitting on death row in a state penitentiary. All of
them were there for committing almost an identical type of murder, one was no
more bizarre than the others. So each was awaiting the death sentence, and then
in the midst of their waiting the Governor sends down a decree that pardons
three of those ten men. And so those three at random were given their pardon and
sent home a free man. Now then what right do the other seven have to say, "You
have to pardon us also." Can they rightfully say that? No, because what are they
still deserving of? Their sentence. They are still guilty murderers who deserve
death, but the other three by virtue of a Governors pardon have been set free.
Now they didn't deserve to be set free, they were just as guilty as the other
seven, but what got them their freedom? Well the grace of the Governor. But the
thing I want to point out is the other seven can never say one word, because
they were guilty, they were sentenced and they're going to get what they
deserve. And in some ways that's a pretty good analogy of how God's Sovereignty
in Grace works.

For you and I as believers were
Hell-bound sinners just like everybody else. We were just as deserving of God's
punishment as anybody could be, but why have we escaped? Because we accepted
God's pardon, and now here we are, we're set free, and the rest of maybe some of
our family, and loved ones, and friends are going on to their just deserts. But
why are we escaping? The Grace of God. Never lose sight of that fact that it's
only the Grace of God that He put His finger on you, and me. We can never boast,
and say, "I'm so glad that I was smart enough to read, and that I had the
wherewithal to understand." But it was only by the Grace of God that after we're
saved we can understand, "Yes, God had me in His sights before the world was
ever created."

You remember I gave the
illustration about 4 or 5 years ago, and at the time that I read it I almost
shook my head in unbelief, but again the more I think about it the more I
believe it. This writer gave the illustration that within the human reproduction
system, every human female has within her body the potential to produce
thousands upon thousands of ova. Every human male has the potential to produce
billions of sperm, and yet it only takes one sperm and one ova to make a child.
This writer felt that the Sovereign God supernaturally predetermines which sperm
fertilizes which ova.

Now that's mind boggling when
you think of the billions of people on the planet tonight, and everyone of them
is a Sovereign act of God. Yes I'm believing it more and more. The same way I
think in our everyday experience. I make no apology to the fact that every
morning, without exception, I thank God for the day that some how miraculously
He let my little wife and I meet. All the things that had to transpire in our
two lives to bring my little wife and me to cross paths, fall in love, and now
spend forty three years together. An act of God? Absolutely! And not just for
the two of us, but for most of you. You can look back, and say, "Wasn't it a
miracle that my husband and I got together." Most of you can tell the same
story. Never sell short the Sovereignty of our God, and it was only by His Grace
that He reached down and chose us. But again I have to be careful for the
unbeliever, and I know we have a lot of you out there listening who would say,
"Why should I be concerned?" You'd better be concerned, because Christ died for
every human being. He didn't die for just the few. He died for every one us, but
it's up to us to accept His offer of pardon. Don't worry about whether you're
chosen are not, "You believe the Gospel." (Ref. I Corinthians 15:1-4.) Once
you've believed the Gospel for your Salvation then God will move in Grace, and
He will show all these truths to you. Not all at once, but rather little by
little they will come sifting through. Now let's move on, and I hope I've
clarified my view on that. Now verse 11 again:

Romans 9:11,12

For the children (Jacob and
Esau now in the womb of Rebecca) being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth; It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the
younger."

Now that was contrary to Middle
Eastern customs. Even in the case of twins, whichever twin was born first he
would be the eldest son, and he would be the rightful heir of the inheritances.
And so this just flew in the face of what Isaac and Rebecca understood. They
thought that this would be against human reason to think that the younger would
receive the inheritance. But God, again in foreknowledge, before those lads were
ever born, being able to see the beginning to the end knew that Esau would be
destitute of faith. God knew that one day Esau would come in and sell the
birthright for a bowl of bean soup, and God knew that later on Esau would also
lose the blessing, and so in His foreknowledge God could say: